Confidentiality Policy

At Vanquish Therapies (VQT), we uphold a strict confidentiality policy within our services and organisation. We are legally, ethically, and professionally obliged to safeguard the confidentiality of our clients and of other users of our services (workshops/courses). We are committed to providing our clients and users of our services with the utmost confidentiality, in accordance with the regulations and the ethical standards of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), BACP, and Association For Coaching (AC).

Confidentiality Within Our Organisation

  • Vanquish Therapies ensures confidentiality both within our services and organisation. This means that information provided to our Members (anyone working within and on behalf of VQT) by clients and users of our services, will not be disclosed to anyone outside of our organisation. Unless we are legally, ethically, and professionally obliged to do so. 
  • We offer our clients and users of our services the uppermost level of confidentiality consistent with the law and the ethical standards provided by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), BACP, and Association For Coaching (AC). This protects our clients and users of our services from the voluntary disclosure of confidences without their permission unless we are legally, ethically, or professionally required to do so.
  • The respecting of client and users of our services confidentiality is a fundamental requirement for preserving trust. The professional management of confidentiality requires the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure.
  • Counsellors, Trainee Counsellors on placement, and Coaches are accountable to their clients and to their profession for their management of confidentiality in general and, particularly, for any disclosures made without their client’s consent. 
  • The requirement to respect client and users of our services confidentiality is also an obligation of all individuals and organisations working within and on behalf of Vanquish Therapies, paid, unpaid, or voluntarily.
  • The obligation to maintain confidentiality also continues after the counselling and coaching relationship has ended. All VQT Members must ensure that client and users of our services records are kept secure so that only the authorised people can access them.
  • All members and ex-members of Vanquish Therapies, paid or un-paid, are obligated to safeguard the anonymity of our current and former Counselling & Coaching clients in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR). Upon commencing work for Vanquish Therapies, members are required to sign a confidentiality agreement that stipulates their responsibility to refrain from making any verbal or written references that could potentially identify VQT clients, unless explicit consent has been obtained from the client. 
  • All matters that relate to client’s case records are confidential and must not be referred to in any way which would give identifying information about that client outside of Vanquish Therapies. It is also essential to respect and strictly adhere to confidentiality within Vanquish Therapies work environment. 
  • When conducting online sessions with clients, all VQT Members must take the reasonable steps to ensure they are in a secluded, and confidential environment. No audio and video recordings of the sessions is permitted by VQT Members and clients. Members must also be well informed about the safe use of technologies, which includes the need for adequate security measures to protect sensitive information held electronically. VQT Members must ensure to not use shared devices to store client notes and information on, and that it is unlawful and unethical to place confidential data on publicly accessible sites such as Facebook and other social media platforms.
  • At the beginning of the session the Member must discuss with the client – if there is a potential comprise of confidentiality such as, using a work computer, or if the client’s screen possibly can be viewed by others (for example, from a window).

This policy applies to all of  Vanquish Therapies services including Counselling/Therapy/Coaching and courses/workshops.

Supervision

Supervisors are the sole individuals with whom Counsellors, Trainee Counsellors on placement, and Coaches can regularly converse about the content of therapeutic and coaching sessions. Regular supervision is a crucial component of the professional practice of Counsellors and Coaches. The supervisors are available to offer support and direction to Counsellors, Trainee Counsellors on placement, and Coaches, and to ensure that they act in the best interests of their clients at all times.

Whilst Supervisors might know some of the intimate details of a client’s therapeutic and coaching sessions, they don’t, as a general rule, know the client’s identity. In the highly unlikely event that a Supervisor did know any of the clients, they have the same enforceable ethical and professional obligations to protect the client’s confidentiality as all our Counsellors, Trainee Counsellors on placement, and Coaches do.

Exceptions To Confidentiality

There are rare circumstances in which  Vanquish Therapies cannot legally or ethically maintain confidentiality within the organisation. Wherever possible, we will make every attempt to communicate with the client or user of our services first explaining the reasons for the need to pass on information and to whom this will be given. These exceptions are listed below and would qualify as areas of authorised disclosure:

Safeguarding Children: If information is disclosed that a child is at risk of immediate significant harm by anybody, Vanquish Therapies has a duty of care under the Children Act to pass on this information to the Social Services and Police.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults: If there is a serious risk of harm/abuse to a vulnerable adult, Vanquish Therapies has a duty of protection to such vulnerable adults. Information will be passed on to the appropriate agencies in order to protect vulnerable adults who could be at risk.

Serious Harm: If any VQT Members knew or felt that a client, user of our services, other VQT member(s), or third party, was at serious risk of harm then we would break confidentiality in order to protect that person’s safety or wellbeing. Where possible, we would always try to seek co-operation from that person before doing so. Members need to inform the Lead Counsellor of such risks immediately.

This is not a decision Vanquish Therapies would ever take lightly. Examples might include the individual:

  • Suffering from psychosis and severe mental distress who presents a clear danger to themselves or others.
  • Announcing their imminent intention to take their own life.

Legal Reasons

Vanquish Therapies may have a legal obligation to pass on information about a serious crime if it is disclosed to our Counsellors, Trainee Counsellors, Coaches or to any other VQT member. In other cases, even if we don’t have an automatic legal obligation to report the crime, we would still have to weigh the ethical implications of breaking confidentiality against the possible harm that keeping such information to ourselves might cause to others or to society in general. We will take careful consideration of the NCPS, BACP, and AC ethical framework and advice from our supervisors and other relevant, expert legal, and professional advisors.  

Legal reasons include (this list is not exhaustive):

Offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1987: If information is given on any planned act of terrorism, Vanquish Therapies is by law, obliged to report this to the Police without informing the person who gave the information.

Court Cases: In the event of a court case, the Judge has power to subpoena a client’s counselling notes, or request that a counselling report is provided as evidence for the case.

Money Laundering: Vanquish Therapies has a duty to disclose any information given in regard to the laundering of money.

Road Traffic Accidents: Vanquish Therapies does not have a duty to initiate disclosure of information known in regard to road traffic accidents. However, if the Police contact us as part of such enquiries, we have a duty to pass on any information relevant to that road traffic accident.

Complaints: In the event that any VQT Member is accused of misconduct, confidentiality may need to be breached for the purpose of conducting an investigation. We will promptly suspend sessions or other services (such as courses/workshops) and handle the matter sensitively. VQT will continue to prioritise the wellbeing of the client(s) or user(s) of our services.

In Summary

Vanquish Therapies has a legal, professional, and ethical obligation to do all we can to protect our client’s and users of our services confidentiality. We take decisions that may affect the confidentiality of our clients and users of our services very seriously. We will never share information about our clients and users of our services for commercial or personal gain but, on rare occasions, breaking confidentiality might be necessary to protect our client’s, users of our services, VQT Members, and others from serious harm, or to comply with the law.